shredding

[horns666]

Here is my approach to "shredding''..

Go as fast as you can for hours.. for days...months...years..

No theory, no nuthin', No Tabs..just shred for shred sake..use your imagination and ears to decide what works and where you want to go..and just go for it..

this has been my approach for over 25 years..I do not sweep and all that, nor do I care to..it's ust not my style, many others do that better than me anywho, so why bother....but I can sure "go"..and this has been my only approach since I started playing..

No Tabs, No covers (except VH) , no books, no theory..just all instinct, and natural ability..I'm from the VH shred school ..like Zakk/Dime/Gary Holt/Kerry King and ect..players like that...

I found that by not covering other players allowed me to explore and cultivate my own identity..therefore I play unorthadox..but it "works"..and it sounds like me..which is important.

I LOVE listentening to great players but I will NOT learn their solos "note for note"..because at the end of the day..you just copied what another dude accomplished..which is cool, but I don't do that...I get very little satisfation from that..but I do let them "inspire" me...giving me "ideas"..then I put my spin on it..

this is just another option or approach..I lack musical dicipline, because i find that boring ..but not direction.

My meter is one of my strong points from being a accomplished bassist for many years playing along to drum machine presets and drummers for years..


well that's what I do..and that will never change..you'll NEVER hear me doing a "cover" song..hopefully some kids will be covering my songs..but I doubt it..that would be cool tho.

go whatever works for you man..

Bill Z Bub

[KLNowak]

I hate the "you don't have to learn to play fast" argument I get from so many people who just simply don't play that way, or can't. I am always like "why not? If you were a golfer would you putt with a pitching wedge? I didn't think so"

[Ninja Guitar]

Rather than advocating shredding or slow playing with good vibrato, I'm just gonna say that I advocate good music.

Maybe I have ADD, but I get bored of ANY music really quick. Especially blues and jazz.

[charvelguy]

my neighbors cat is a hell of a shredder, he just shredded the flesh off my hand in one mighty swipe when I tried to pet the monster.

[6_string_master]

Schenker, Schenker, Schenker..

Seriously, that's musicality for ya

Why does everyone here sing there praises about Michael Schenker? I guess I just don't really care for his stuff, especially MSG. I know, people will probably flame me for not hailing him as the god of guitar but I don't care. There are a lot of other guys out there with great, if not better vibrato(IMHO). Cause on these forums, people seem to think that vibrato makes a "real" musician. Personally I like Steve Vai the best out of the "shredders" because he is so creative and explores other areas of music. He could be a complete wanker like Rusty Cooley if he wanted to.

[charvelguy]

To me its a generalized and overused/abused slang term that seems to cover a rather broad ground. Its use as it is applied here doesn't show in the dictionary. Likely the appeal of certain guitarists is largely a combination of generational differences and tastes as well as the explosion of newer generation of guitarists coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches with not just killer chops but a much stronger understanding of theory which Michael did not have.

When I was growing up and being influenced by Marino, Schenker, Holdsworth, Lukather, Page, May, Blackmore, VH etc..kings of late 70's..the term did not exist as far as I know in a guitarists vocabulary.


Guys like Vai were the new and up n coming generation, but in those days, he was just the sideman for Zappa as his "little Italian Virtuoso", which was no less of a feat for a guy of 18-19 cause Zappa was comparitively almost as recognized in the guitar realm as Jeff Beck in terms of success back then.

With the onset of the 80's, the mediums for which music was being marketed began their changes.
Guys were literally gaining exposure overnight.


When the Attitude song was breaking out into guitarists homes in the form of a plastic/nylon 45, Yngwie was still just a name being sporadically mentioned that guitarists were perplexing as to how to spell or pronounce and Gilbert was just a very very talented kid. Randy was gone and Jake E Lee was being scrutinized as Randy's replacement.

'scuse, me I have to get off the porch now and go cook dinner,...but that is my abbreviated version of the early 80's in a nutshell.

[horns666]

Why does everyone here sing there praises about Michael Schenker? I guess I just don't really care for his stuff, especially MSG. I know, people will probably flame me for not hailing him as the god of guitar but I don't care. There are a lot of other guys out there with great, if not better vibrato(IMHO). Cause on these forums, people seem to think that vibrato makes a "real" musician. Personally I like Steve Vai the best out of the "shredders" because he is so creative and explores other areas of music. He could be a complete wanker like Rusty Cooley if he wanted to.

Although I do NOT sound anything like MS..I certainly took alot from him in my earlier years..and I do really love his playing/style..

I have my own thing going..and it's just everything I always loved about my favorite players all mushed together..

I've always LOVED speed..so I never practiced slow in my life..yes it was "sloppy'..but you keep at it and eventually that"slop" becomed refined..and original..

I always go over the same patterns and scales over and over again as fast as I possibly can until they sound clean as possible..I have tapes of me playing these same patterns and it's fast but pretty horrible..it's much more "musical" and polished these days..from years of just doing them.

So my thing is get used to shredding at full speed..it helped me with both technique and endurance..I can fly around the fretboard now and know where all my favorite G-spots are for squeals and whatnots..so it works..

I applied this same thing to bass..and it got me where I am..I absolutely smoke with cocky confidence. on bass!!

Get familiar with your playing in that context and things will just fall into place naturally..like anything else you do all the time..

People that practice slow seem to all sound the same.. like painting by numbers..they really don't sound that original to me..not at all...good but not original..the same ol' same ol'...

They guys I think sound original are always those who have that "just go for it" mentality..like Jeff Loomis..we spoke about that for quite some time..and he's absolutely right..he doesn't really plan anything.. he noodles around really fast until he stumbles upon something he really digs..to me THAT's original..and excatly what I do.

otherwise you'll just sound like one of many thousands of Yngwie clones..we really don't need more of those..we have plenty enough really!!

This is my approach to.."shredding"..I'm not alone here..many of my faves takes this same approach..so if it works for you..fuggit!

Bill Z

[Death metal soloist]

If you mean shredding like rusty cooley then never, but who would want that anyways?

[JC_Denton]

I wouldnt mind to have his legato skills

[Ninja Guitar]

Rusty sure does get picked on a lot for being such an awesome, hard working guitarist. He plays some great music, he's very melodic, and his conditioning on the guitar is absolutely mesmorizing.

[charvelguy]

What do you expect from a crowd that has favorites? Yngwie, Nuno and EVH take their lumps here too.

The main aspect of 'shred' is control, as well as technical display/mastery.
If you can't play it slow, you aren't going to be much more masterful fast, but then again, you also have to push yourself to strive and 'master' it both ways.
Every major guitarist (Becker, Eric Johnson, Vinnie Moore, Petrucci, Morse..etc) will tell you the same thing. Every major classical performer or jazz performer will likely say the same as well.

Sweeps became a big thing to emulate just as tapping was a big thing emulate... follow the herd. The main leaders of the pack are distanced by their uniquness. EVH was constantly striving to break new ground every album he put out in the early days. It's obvious Yngwie and Becker had a solid background in true classical playing and discipline, otherwise they would not be able to take it the direction they did on electric.

If you don't mix it up, it gets old real fast. Ever been to or in a guitar contest/competition?...they rate you in catagories according to many various factors.. technical, melodic/phrasing, composition, dynamics, variety of styles, uniqueness, entertainment-showmanship-- etc.. and you have to put it together in a package of usually less than a minute.

You can't just go up and do a bunch of sweeps and expect to place cause there's about ten other guys out of 25 that are going to be doing a variation on the sweepfest too.. and they may just succeed in getting the guitar over their shoulder when they throw it. Mix it up or stay with your groove and go with what you do best.

Usually the guys that show a wide pallet of ability as well as a total package of good chops .. which don't even necessarily have to be a well put together series of swept arps.. there's Jazz guys who are playing some very intricate, complex and challenging chord voicings and intertwining melodic lines that have 'chops' of a different sense....they are no less of skill or musicianship in my book.. often times, those are the cats who will place in a competition because they came across with a coheasive musical concept that really came across well instead of a thousand notes of disjointed free form... altho, it its Jason Becker of old doing it, he'd likely get away with doing just that.

Be more than one dimensional, but if you can only be one dimensional and you are not a master of that dimension, then you better add delay.

Maybe we should just play and not think about it to much. I think I'll take my own advice there.

[Thoraby]

Learn how to shred in 45 minutes!!!

http://www.fret2fret.com/guitar6.html?gclid=CL-20qrv-4gCFSB-MAod2DL1rg

[sevser]

I say just let er rip and listen to yourself...Let others listen and tell you what they hear.

My Daughter video taped me the otherday and it's the first time I really "watched" myself and my technique. I was just going over a new song to find a place for the solo, trying different modes n stuff...Some sounds like shit and some stuff is okay. The cool thing about it is you can SEE what you did as well as hear it. A real eye opener...

Cool way to REALLY evaluate your playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6M4lm9Ahz0

Having said "Listen to others"...Please

Be forgiving...It was total random wanking. lol

[VitaminG]

that's a cool idea, Dave. I'm now re-evaluating whether I should even call myself a guitarist after watching your video

[sevser]

C'mon Bro...It's all subjective but thanks!

Sound is horrid but it was a trip watching as opposed to listening only.